ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the institution of lordship in Guelders, demonstrating that the number of semi-autonomous lordships in one subregion of Guelders remained constant, or even expanded, in the period 1325-1570, and exploring the implications of their spatial position along the borders of Guelders. The sources to support this quantitative development mainly consist of feudal records from Guelders and other neighbouring polities, supplemented with various documents about lordships without princely overlords (allodia). Sixteenth-century court cases over contested boundaries will serve to illustrate how contemporaries perceived the spatial components and physical boundaries of lordships in relation to the overarching territory of Guelders. I argue that in their predominantly marginal location, lordships may have functioned as a ‘buffer zone’ between Guelders and neighbouring principalities.
